In Weymouth, a Puppy Doe story with a happy ending

Wednesday

Feb 12, 2014 at 1:12 PMFeb 13, 2014 at 11:02 AM

A dog that police say was so badly beaten by its former owner in western Massachusetts that officers thought it wouldn't survive went home from a Weymouth veterinary hospital with its new owner on Wednesday.

Christian Schiavone The Patriot Ledger @CSchiavo_Ledger

WEYMOUTH – The plucky Pomeranian mix wearing a blue Superman sweater and a red hat to cover the long scar across the top of his head looked up at his new owner.

After a moment’s hesitation and a tentative sniff, the dog, named Jameson, accepted a rub on the nose from Alison Metcalfe, the Ludlow police detective who was with three other officers when they found the 1-year-old dog severely beaten and near death in their western Massachusetts town last week.

Metcalfe and the other officers – Patrolmen Brian Shameklis, Michael Whitney and Jason Chelo – picked up the dog at the VCA South Shore Animal Hospital in Weymouth on Wednesday. Metcalfe adopted the dog, whose previous owner beat him with a 3-foot-long pair of pruning loppers and left him in the woods to die in Ludlow, according to police.

“It’s amazing,” Metcalfe said of the dog’s recovery. “He looks like a little bear cub.”

Metcalfe decided to drop the dog’s previous name, Scrunchy, and rename him Jameson.

Hospital staff chose the Superman sweater for the dog in honor of what they said was a heroic recovery.

After finding the dog in the woods last Thursday, the officers wrapped him in a sweatshirt and rushed to an animal hospital in Springfield. The dog was later transferred to the Weymouth animal hospital.

Stephanie Kube, a veterinarian at the Weymouth hospital, said the dog had significant bleeding and multiple skull fractures that required surgery.

“It was just unbelievable how much brain injury he had,” Kube said. “He’s doing fantastically well.”

The dog is recovering, but still has some trouble walking and using his left front leg. There’s a risk the dog may also develop seizures in the future, Kube said.

Supporters raised more than $10,000 for the dog’s care, more than enough to cover the cost.

The dog’s former owner, Ricardo Costa, 40, of Ludlow, is facing a felony charge of attempting to kill, maim or poison an animal. He’s due back court in Palmer on March 4.

Police say Costa told officers who came went to his home to investigate a re port of possible animal cruelty that he hit the dog because he was angry that the dog had defecated in its crate. Costa cooperated and showed them where he’d left the dog. He also told officers he thought the dog was dead.

Michael Bernstein, the area medical director for VCA South Shore Animal Hospital, said Jameson’s case has echoes of Puppy Doe, the name given to the brutally abused pit bull that was found in Quincy last summer. Her injuries were so severe she had to be euthanized.

“It’s just another example of the type of abuse we occasionally see in our society,” Bernstein said. “At least this dog survived and had a good outcome.”

After getting instructions on multiple medications and physical therapy for Jameson, the four Ludlow officers carried the dog out on a blue dog bed and headed home.

“It’s a happy ending,” Shameklis said. “We don’t see too many of those in our job.”

Christian Schiavone may be reached at cschiavone@ledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @CSchiavo_Ledger.